Whilst wandering in the woods foraging for mushrooms, I came across this pile of scat. It left me a little shaken. My brain was telling me that it had to be a very large boar but the shape and size of the scat suggested only one creature and, thankfully, it’s region starts 60 miles west of me – the brown bear (or Grizzly, as it’s known in the States).

I’m still confused as I know they’re not in my area but maybe one passed through on holiday…

The mushroom season continues and the forest is now thick with them thanks to the alternating heatwave and rainstorms. These are two Birch Boletes, one of the two fungi we forage for. There’s an old saying locally that when you find one look for its brother….

Whilst out foraging for porcini (cep) mushrooms over the weekend, deep in the forest, I came across some huge wolf tracks. Discovering such evidence of what inhabits the Carpathian forest really makes you aware just how far into the woods, and how far away from people, you’ve wandered…
At first I thought they were lynx tracks because the claws aren’t really visible and they print is quite rounded.